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To those of you who are a part of Rally the Lesser Magistrate campaign, please pass this on in your sphere of influence. Thanks!

The “Social Issues” and the Lesser Magistrate Doctrine

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

Alexis De Tocqueville, French historian, came to America to conduct a vigorous investigation seeking to discover the greatness of our country. For nine months, De Tocqueville went to and fro, seeking to understand this phenomenon. How was it the “land of the free and the home of the brave” catapulted to prominence in such a relatively short time? After all, America was the new kid on the block when it came to the development of nations on earth.

De Tocqueville findings would shock most today. In fact, his findings would probably be soundly rejected and Obama would certainly apologize for them. Nonetheless, the following is what his inquiry revealed about the greatness of America.

He (De Tocqueville) looked for the greatness of America in her harbors and rivers, her fertile fields and boundless forests, mines and other natural resources. He studied America’s schools, her Congress, and her matchless Constitution without comprehending America’s power. Not, until he went into the churches of America and heard pulpits “aflame with righteousness” did he understand the secret of her genius and strength. “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Our Colonial and Founding Fathers were well aware of the importance of righteousness as it pertained to the welfare of America. They believed our national peace and security were directly tied to this Biblical admonishment (Isaiah 32:16-18) . On April 30, 1776, Samuel Adams, Father of the American Revolution, wrote to John Scollay of Boston:

Revelation assures us that “Righteousness exalteth a nation.” Communities are dealt with in this world by the wise and just Ruler of the Universe. He rewards or punishes them according to their general character. The diminution of public virtue is usually attended with that of public happiness, and the public liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals. “The Roman Empire,” says the historian, “must have sunk, though the Goths had not invaded it. Why? Because the Roman virtue was sunk.”

On Wednesday, March 6, 1799, President John Adams issued an official government proclamation of prayer. His Proclamation of a National Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer reads in part:

That He (The God of the Bible) would interpose to arrest the progress of that impiety and licentiousness in principle and practice so offensive to Himself and so ruinous to mankind; That He would make us deeply sensible that “righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people” [Proverbs 14:34]; That He would turn us from our transgressions and turn His displeasure from us; That He would withhold us from unreasonable discontent, from disunion, faction, sedition, and insurrection; That He would preserve our country from the desolating sword.

On the reversal of The Stamp Act Resolves, which passed in the House of Burgesses, on May 1765, Patrick Henry (this author’s favorite Founding Father) wrote:

This brought on the war which finally separated the two countries and gave independence to ours. Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings, which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.

There are many more quotes and sources that could verify the Christian commitment our Founding Fathers made to establish our nation in righteousness. For brevity’s sake, this will have to suffice for now. Most of them believed there was a direct connection between the spiritual and moral state of men and the subsequent consequences that befalls nations.

George Mason, one of the chief architects of the Bill of Rights, refused to sign the United States Constitution as it did not abolish slavery nor sufficiently limit the Federal Government’s power that infringed on the rights of states. Mason warned America:

Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of heaven upon a country. As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins, by national calamities.

In other words, obedience to God’s revealed law in the public sphere brings blessings to men and nations, while violating God’s law produces curses (Deuteronomy 28). We must never forget that the national sin of slavery brought national calamity, just as Mason warned. The Civil War devastated our nation. Over 630,000 men died to vanquish this evil from our land.

America would do well to heed Mason’s warning. Today, our nation calls good, evil and evil, good (Isaiah 5:20). Our government has codified much of this evil into law. Under our watch, America has murdered close to 60 million children made in the image of God and with the legalization of “homosexual marriage,” we are parading our sin like Sodom. We have indeed committed great national sins. In fact, The Bible calls child sacrifice (the shedding of innocent blood) and homosexuality abominations. These transgressions reach an entirely different level of wickedness. Do we think it is a coincidence that we are facing increased national calamities?

In light of our nation’s precarious situation, what can be done to restore righteousness in America? There is a Biblical and historical solution. A group of ministers are working on a project called, “Rally the Lesser Magistrate” campaign. I’m honored to be a part of this “salt and light” company of men. We have boots on the ground in Tennessee rallying the lesser magistrates, pastors, churches, and the citizens to rise up and say, “No” to the Federal Government’s abuses and usurpations. We are seeking to relay the Biblical and historical foundations to inspire and equip lesser magistrates (governors, sheriffs, state legislators, police chiefs, etcetera) to end tyranny and restore law and order to our beleaguered nation. The call is for the lesser magistrates to interpose between federal oppression and the life, liberty, and property of American citizens in all fifty states.

There is still American DNA left in some of our statesmen. Governors and sheriffs are rising up to say no to Obama and the Feds when it comes to Syrian refugees, Common Core, gun control, Sharia Law, and a host of other debilitating issues that threaten our future. Though encouraging, their stand unfortunately ignores the root cause of our woe― sinful, criminal behavior. Thus, these well meaning magistrates are missing the mark when it comes to the defense of our nation. This is no time to prune the fruit of our troubles. We must deal with the root, the source of our demise.

We must convince the lesser magistrate to abolish the so-called “social issues,” such as abortion and homosexuality. These are our national sins leading to national calamities in our day. Merely treating symptoms will never heal our national maladies.

What we perceive our problem to be, determines the strategy we utilize to solve it. Ask any doctor, without the correct diagnosis, vain is the prescribed cure. In fact, an erroneous analysis can lead to the cure becoming far worse than the disease. America has misdiagnosed our problems for decades. This blindness has helped to spawn the lawlessness, corruption, and tyranny spewing from Washington, DC.

There are two specific abominations that, once they reach heaven, call down the judgment of God. Every nation that allowed child sacrifice (the shedding of innocent blood) and homosexuality to run rampant, rued the day.

Psalm 106:37-41 reveals God’s assessment of child sacrifice, which America euphemistically calls abortion. Child sacrifice nurtures the demonic realm. It pollutes and defiles the land. And it angers the Lord.

What does God’s anger look like in time and history? The Bible reveals “those who hated them ruled over them” (Psalms 106:41). God allows countries that commit such brutality to be made subject to unjust laws, which they cannot abide. The abomination of child sacrifice eventually subjects men and nations to tyranny.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

In a very real sense, the widespread acceptance of sodomy speaks to the demise of civilizations. Historically, the proliferation of homosexuality signaled the end of empires (Rome, Greece, and the pagan nations in the Ancient Near East). America, it seems, is hell bent to join the league of nations who collapsed from within due to this moral corruption.

In millenniums past, civilizations outlawed sodomy and condemned the practice as a crime. America is ignoring thousands of years of historical jurisprudence in order to make mainstream what was once considered unspeakable. The more the homosexual agenda wins the day, however, the more homosexuals and our nation suffers.

As we call upon the lesser magistrate to rise up and interpose, these so-called “social issues” must become a major priority. If states refuse to interpose where it is most needed, we may gain some state rights, but we will still lose our nation. God is not mocked. If we continue to sow to the wind, we will reap the whirlwind.